fine lines are closer than they appear

There’s a reason why the anti- aging industry is a multibillion dollar business. If you flip through any woman’s magazine, you will find an article promising baby smooth skin if you follow this regiment and buy these products. I remember reading articles that offered tips to prevent aging in your 20s. 20s! Commercials feature women talking about their former self as if they just had no rights to even be seen. They look ashamed at pictures of themselves just “weeks ago” but alas! Now their skin is soft and smooth and they look just like their daughter! What a relief!

You are playing right into the patriarchy when you worry about fine lines and wrinkles on your skin. Aging is inevitable. We are aging from birth. It is one of the most natural things a person can do. When you buy into the idea that you will be a better person (or prettier, more presentable, etc) when you slap on those anti aging creams, you are keeping the patriarchy firm in place. Have you ever thought about how men are viewed as they age? I’ve heard them compared to “fine wine, better with age”. I’ve heard them called “silver foxes”. And women? Women are often looked at as “an old hag” or “washed up” because, as you know, for a woman, life is over once you hit 40. Sometimes a woman slips through like Cindy Crawford or Helen Mirren (by means of plastic surgery or her genetic disposition) but even then, she is told she looks good “for her age”. We are brainwashed into believing these myths! After years and years of hearing these things repetitively, we honestly believe this 60 year old man looks better than this 60 year old woman. Advertising agencies eat your insecurities up and we never break free from the cycle.

In order to change this unfair cycle, we have to accept aging as part of life. Our skin will wrinkle. There is no magic potion that will reverse this, no matter what the label claims. We must stop the name- calling of older women because it is seriously holding us back from equality. It is time to stop wasting your money on those anti- aging products. Men don’t buy into it; why should you? It is an unfair balance between the sexes that could be erased with a little effort from everyone.